Cherry Stems
by Water Fairy a.k.a. Mizu
Summary: On a hot summer day, the gang decides that cherries would be a great snack. And then a competition happens to see who can tie a cherry stem…


**Cherry Stems**

By Water Fairy a.k.a. Mizu

Disclaimer: I do not own Uta no Prince-sama.

Summary: On a hot summer day, the gang decides that cherries would be a great snack. And then a competition happens to see who can tie a cherry stem…

X-X-X

A warm breeze blew across the campus of the famous Saotome Academy, signifying that that summer was well on its way. In fact, the season had already hit the academy and its students were often seen lazing through their lessons and doing summertime activities during their free time. An unofficial soccer team had even sprung up for both the A and S classes and oftentimes games would be held on the weekends when neither class had much to do. Even though it was summer, the students still had select days to go into class and do work. This was done to prepare them for the hectic schedules that idols had. However, the promise of a possible debut (and the summer trip to the Southern islands) kept the students from boycotting their classes completely and diligently doing their allotted work. Even so, the summer heat and beautiful days had most off in dreamland and a number of song projects turned in had something to do with said season.

The warm weather brightened the spirits of one Nanami Haruka and the girl felt greatly inspired by the season. This inspiration, of course, took the form of her favorite pastime and career choise: song composition. She had written a number already and each was tailored to someone who had helped her over the past few months. These she had tucked away in her bag as she hurried to meet her friends for the planned picnic they had decided on just a few days earlier. They had the day off, a much welcome reprieve, and it was a beautiful day at that, though a little on the hot side. Using the school kitchens, Haruka had prepared the strawberry _daifuku_ her grandmother had taught her to make and she sincerely hoped that they would be pleasing to her friends. She knew that Ittoki Otoya and Shibuya Tomochika, or Tomo-chan as she preferred, enjoyed spicy things more than sweet, but she also knew that Otoya was rather fond of almost anything that had strawberries incorporated into them. Smiling widely to herself, she hurried towards the desired meeting spot and clutched the bag more tightly.

The spot they had agreed upon to meet up was a shady area by the lake. It was a place that they would often convene after class or during free time to discuss their newest project. Usually, it was Haruka and Tomo-chan who spent the most time there, but Otoya and Shinomiya Natsuki, their classmate, had started spending time there as well and somewhere along the lines both Hijirikawa Masato, another classmate of theirs, and Kurusu Syo, Natsuki's roommate, had also joined them. So, since they had no classes that day, they decided to have picnic to congratulate each other on coming so far in just a few months. Haruka remembered her first project she had to do with Otoya and smiled warmly at the memory. Though she had trouble at first, having not been able to read or write proper music, she had crammed on it for the bright boy she was partnered with and her hard work came to fruition with the song that had earned the both of them a rather good grade.

Haruka was grateful, not only to Otoya, but to the others as well. Masato had been the one to help her overcome her fear of playing the piano in front of others and Natsuki and Syo had opened themselves to her when they let her hear their songs. She wanted to thank them for letting her be privy to parts of themselves they hadn't yet showed other people and for helping her become more confident in her music. She had wanted to invite Jinguuji Ren, if only because she felt that it would be polite, but because of Masato's less than warm relationship with him, she had thought better than to ask him. Of course, Tomo-chan had let slip that they were having a picnic when Ren was nearby so Haruka wouldn't be surprised if he did show up, but for the sake of Masato, she silently hoped that if Ren did, he wouldn't tease Masato too much. She moved across the grass of the quad and, upon cresting a small hill, caught sight of her friends already preparing the area. Smiling largely, she hurried down the hill towards them, being careful not trip as she did so.

When she was close enough, she greeted them warmly, "Ah! Tomo-chan! Syo-kun! Shinomiya-san! Hello!"

"Haruka! There you are! Ah! You're out of breath! You didn't run all the way here, did you?" Tomo-chan scolded, noticing that Haruka was indeed panting rather heavily. She clicked her tongue angrily and took the bag from the other girl, shaking her head. "Really, Haruka! You didn't have to run."

Haruka merely smiled, smoothing out the wrinkles in her dark pink sundress. Tomo-chan knew of her less than prime health and doted on her because of that, but her health had gotten better than it had been when she was a child. Though she knew this, she wasn't quite bothered by her roommate's gentle nagging and giggled as Tomo-chan ruffled her hair. She ran her fingers through her hair to fix the mussed strands that Tomo-chan had caused and turned her attention to the people gathered.

"Geez! Where's Otoya and Masa?" Tomo-chan whined, hands on her hips. "Otoya's supposed to bring the drinks and Masa the plates and cups!" She waved her hand at the items already assembled, indicating the large picnic basket and two bags of snacks. "The food's ready to eat!"

"I'm sure they'll be here soon," Haruka responded, easing herself onto the checkered blanket. Huffing, Tomo-chan threw herself down besides her and leered at the hill as two figures appeared heading towards them. Haruka smiled at her as she said, "See?"

"Eh? Who's that with Otoya-kun?" Natsuki asked, shading his eyes to see who was with their redheaded friend.

Syo was the one who responded, moving to meet the two males heading towards them. "Tokiya! What are you doing here?"

In Otoya's grasp was his roommate and friend-rival, Ichinose Tokiya, who looked less than happy to be dragged around by the younger male. The dark-haired youth didn't grace Syo with a response, instead leered darkly at the happy boy holding his arm. A bag of some kind of drinks was clutched in Otoya's other hand and he held them out to Syo as he kept a firm grip on Tokiya's upper arm. The redhead grinned brightly, greeting his friends warmly and making sure that Tokiya didn't try to get away.

"Tokiya was just going to sit in our room like a hermit, so I thought I would drag him along!" Otoya explained, stilling pulling the older male along.

Syo only raised an eyebrow at that, meeting eyes with his classmate. A faint blush was on the older male's cheeks, but if it was from anger or embarrassment, Syo didn't know. Instead, he merely chuckled, shaking his head, and followed behind the two roommates. He placed the drinks down besides one of the bags of snacks and took the seat on the other side of Haruka. A small pout formed on Otoya's face at his movements and Syo couldn't help smirking at that. He leaned back with a gloating aura and used his hands to hold himself up. He hoped his stance told the others he wasn't moving and a sighing Otoya took residence next to him. At this clear act of surrender, he let his smirk grow and closed his eyes, enjoying the way the warm breeze played with his clothes.

Haruka was surprised to see that Otoya had actually managed to get Tokiya come with him and she blushed brightly when the blue-eyed young man met her eyes. Lowering her eyes, she momentarily flashbacked to the Hayato concert she had recently attended and remembered the way her idol had caught her. It was then, being so close to the famous singer, that she realized that her "mistake" at the beginning of the year with Tokiya hadn't been a mistake at all. Tokiya was actually his presumed brother, Hayato. Lifting her eyes from her lap, she looked through her bangs at the dark-haired singer. She wondered what had made him pretend to be his own brother and enter Saotome Academy.

"Oh! Masa! Jinguuji-san!"

At Natsuki's voice, Haruka broke her concentration on Tokiya and turned to see that Masato wasn't alone as he descended the hill. His gait showed aggravation as did the slightly rosy hue to his cheeks and he seemed to be finishing an argument as he stalked towards them. When he finally made it to the picnic, he nodded his greetings, sparing the smallest of glances at Tokiya, and dropped the plates and cups by the picnic basket before he squeezed himself between Tomo-chan and Natsuki to get out of sitting next to Ren. Natsuki obligingly moved over to give him room and Ren smirked at the disgruntled young man as he surveyed the gathered teens. After a moment, he elegantly sat down next to Tokiya and Masato glared darkly at him.

"You weren't invited, Jinguuji," he snapped, but Ren merely waved dismissively, turning his attention to Haruka.

"I'm sure the Little Lamb doesn't mind my intruding upon your little get together," he remarked, smiling smoothly, "do you?"

"A-Ah! N-No! O-Of course not!" Haruka responded, waving her hands and blushing brightly.

"Ahhh, such the smooth talker," Syo muttered, sitting forward. "AH! I'm hungry! What did you bring for lunch?"

Tomo-chan immediately puffed up, smiling proudly, and said, "My special homemade _bento_! As well as an assortment of different sandwiches that I, also, handmade."

"It's all edible, right?" Syo asked, eyeing the picnic basket with a slight twitch. He knew that sometimes not everyone could tell when something was edible and when something was most decidedly _not_, no matter how good it looked. Tomo-chan glared darkly at him.

"Of course it is! Are you insinuating something?" she snapped and he held his hands up in surrender.

"Just asking! I mean…there are _some_ people who think they can cook and _can't_." His statement was punctuated by a pointed look at an oblivious Natsuki and Otoya paled a little next to him as he remembered his unfortunate meeting with the glasses-wearing boy's cooking.

After a few more rounds of bantering, the food was finally served and the drinks poured. There was a moment of silence as they all tried the food that was brought and then talking resumed as it was discovered that it was very much edible. Haruka sat in happy silence, enjoying the warm weather and content feeling she got from the gathered teens. She liked that they were all gathered together, despite them being rivals, and she felt that she wanted to share this feeling with other people. They were all so unique, each of their voices easily standing out from the tangle of voices, but Haruka found that they sounded very nice when they talked together that she couldn't help finding herself wondering what they would sound like singing together.

Her reverie was broken by Tomo-chan telling her to eat and she did so, blushing faintly at being caught daydreaming. To hide her momentary lapse in awareness, she complimented Tomo-chan's cooking, making the other girl again puff up in pride. Giggling at her roommate, she turned to attention to the gather males and smiled softly. She really did want to hear what they sounded like singing together, though she wasn't sure if the academy allowed duets or group songs. To make sure she didn't again begin to daydream, she watched the interactions between her friends. Otoya was trying to make Tokiya eat more food and Syo was poking fun at the dark-haired singer for being so self-conscious of his figure. Tokiya was having none of it, but reluctantly let Otoya place another half of a sandwich on his plate. Across from them, Natsuki was playing mediator for Ren and Masato as Tomo-chan looked on with a disbelieving smile. Whatever Ren had said, had obviously aggravated Masato and the dark-haired youth was glaring darkly at his roommate, oblivious to Natsuki's attempts to calm him down.

Despite the slight rowdiness of the gathered individuals, Haruka couldn't help thinking they couldn't be more in tune. There was some kind of energy to the group and she wondered if any of them realized it or if any took notice that their voices fit together like pieces of a puzzle. Her warm feeling grew and she happily nibbled on her sandwich. She felt the familiar tingle of a song composition coming on, but the melody for it wasn't completely there yet. This disappointed her slightly, but she wasn't all too bothered by it. After all, she was more content to sit there surrounded by her friends than worry over a half formed song.

Soon, the group of students had finished their meal, leaving only dessert left. Haruka pulled out the container of _daifuku_ from her bag and opened it, blushing faintly before she moved to put it down. She placed it on the blanket next to the uncovered bowl of cherries Natsuki had brought and smiled shyly at them. Her friends peered curiously at the bowl and Syo tilted his head, as if he was seeing if he could tell the edibleness by the look of the food. (He knew he couldn't, but he didn't want to potentially hurt Haruka's feelings by asking her if they were edible.) Otoya was the first to take one of her _daifuku_, followed shortly by Tomo-chan, and both stared at the sweet for a moment before opening their mouths. There was a hushed silence as the group watched the two try the sweet, waiting to see their reactions.

"Did you make this, Nanami?" Otoya asked after he finished the treat, licking his fingers.

A blush warmed Haruka's cheeks and she nodded, shyly looking up at him. A broad grin grew on the redhead's face and he happily took another sweet. Spurred by his actions, the others soon followed and Otoya even managed to convince Tokiya to try one. The dark-haired male, never a fan of sweets, took small bites from the _daifuku_ and was surprised at how much he enjoyed the treat. Turning his gray-blue eyes from the grinning face of his roommate, he settled them on Haruka and let a half smile twitch up one side of his mouth.

"It _is_ very good," he remarked and Haruka only blushed deeper, managing to squeak out a small "thank you".

When he was done eating his _daifuku_, Ren reached over and plucked a cherry from the bowl, popping the fruit into his mouth, stem and all. After a few moments, he pulled the stem from his mouth, tied into a tight knot. He placed the stem gently onto his plate and he smirked at the surprised looks on the faces of the others.

Reaching out and taking another cherry, he asked, "Can't you tie a cherry stem?"

"O-Of course!" Syo snorted, taking a cherry for himself. He first ate the fruit before placing the stem in his mouth. For several moments, the others sat watching him expectantly as he worked his mouth. A look of growing frustration appeared on his face before he huffily pulled the stem from his mouth. Dropping the stem on his plate, he crossed his arms and muttered, "I can't."

Ren smirked and turned his attention to Masato, whose mouth was also moving. After a moment, the stoic young man pulled a knotted stem out of mouth. It wasn't as tightly knotted as Ren's, but it was tied. Haruka lightly clapped for him as he gave a small smirk to Ren before reaching for a cherry herself.

"I would like to try…" she murmured, pulling the stem off the blood red fruit and placing it in her mouth. She spent several moments trying to tie the stem as she rolled the fruit between her hands before sighing and pulling the stem untied from her mouth. She pouted a little as she said, "I can't do it either…"

"Looks like we're in the same boat," Syo remarked, patting her shoulder as Natsuki happily said, "Look, Syo-chan!"

The bespectacled youth was holding out a tightly knotted stem and Syo gaped at him. Natsuki was mostly oblivious to his roommate's surprise and contentedly popped another fruit into his mouth. A moment later, Tomo-chan was also producing a tied stem at the same time Masato produced his second one. Haruka merely watched in awe as her friends began turning the bowl of cherries into tied stems. After a moment, she took another and tried again, but was again met in failure. She frowned at the stem in her hand and sighed softly.

"You know, Little Lamb, I could show you how to do it," Ren remarked and Haruka looked up hopefully.

"You can?" she asked and Tokiya immediately was digging his elbow into Ren's ribs.

"What are you trying to pull, Jinguuji?" he hissed lowly, unaware of the worried look on Haruka's face.

"Aw, come now, Ichi~. I was only being friendly," Ren responded, turning his attention to the dark-haired male next to him. "Have you tried yet?"

A blush colored Tokiya's cheeks and he scoffed. "Why would I do something childish like that?"

"Scared, Ichi?" the other male teased, bright blue eyes dancing with mirth.

Tokiya frowned darkly, instantly responding to the challenge. He took a cherry and popped the stem off, placing it in his mouth. His gaze didn't move from Ren's for several moments before he started looking down, as if trying to see his mouth. Finally, his brows furrowed, he pulled a weakly knotted stem from his mouth that immediately popped undone once it was out. Ren smirked, but nodded as if he expected that the whole time. Plucking another cherry from the bowl, he played with the fruit as he surveyed the group.

Brushing the fruit against his lips, he said, "It looks like I'm the best kisser~."

Haruka and Natsuki both looked confused at his remark as Syo frowned before slapping his forehead. He should have realized that that was what Ren was doing the whole time. Tokiya just covered his mouth, not believing that he had let himself be led into something like that. Masato shared a similar look to Tokiya as he let the words sink in and grumbled something that sounded like "perverted tricks". Tomo-chan chuckled merrily, twirling another cherry by the stem before eating the fruit and tying the stem into a knot.

"It looks like you are, Jinguuji-san," she remarked, taking a sip of her drink.

There were a few grumbles, mostly from Syo, Masato, and Tokiya, and those mutters were mostly because none had remembered what it supposedly meant if one could tie a cherry stem. The three were glowering at the smirking young man as Tomo-chan explained to Haruka and Natsuki what tying cherry stems had to do with being a good kisser. Still glowering at Ren, Syo caught sight of Otoya pulling something from his mouth from his peripheral vision and briefly glanced at him, before taking notice what the other male had in his hand. Turning his gaze from the smirking Ren, the blonde watched as the redhead slowly placed a cherry stem tied in a neat bow on his plate. For one shocked moment he just gawked at the plate before vigorously pointing at Ren.

"HA! You're _not_ the best kisser!" he explained, letting a somewhat manic laugh escape his lips. "Take _that_, Jinguuji!"

The others just stared at Syo in confusion as he continued laughing before they turned their attention to the area in front of Otoya. Ren looked momentarily confused until he realized what was sitting on the redhead's plate. Eyebrows raised, he let a smirk slide onto his face as he took in what the younger male had done. He rubbed his mouth and let out a low chuckle.

"Well, well, Ikki. I certainly didn't expect _that_," he remarked, grinning widely as a bright blush colored the younger male's cheeks.

"Man! If there wasn't this 'no dating' rule, I would be all over you by now!" Tomo-chan sighed causing Otoya's blush to become darker.

He shyly gave them a lop-sided smile, shrugging his shoulders, saying, "I'm not _that _good…"

"_Please_," Syo scoffed, grabbing another cherry. "I'm going to tie a knot if my life depended on it."

The group laughed at that and they didn't disband the picnic until the bowl of cherries was completely made into tied stems.

X-x-x

This evolved from me talking about my headcanon for Starish and who could tie cherry stems. I think the ending is a little blah, but I wasn't sure how to end it, so hopefully it's not too bad.

(This was not supposed to be this long either…)


End file.
